


Wanted: One Hero for Happily Ever After

by LizaCameron



Series: Wanted [3]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s05e22 Memorial Day, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-28
Updated: 2004-10-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaCameron/pseuds/LizaCameron
Summary: Josh and Donna finally have a conversation.





	Wanted: One Hero for Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Wanted: One Hero for Happily Ever After.**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Romance  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, this is for fun and no money.  
**Summary:** Josh and Donna finally have a conversation.  
**Spoiler:** Memorial Day  
**Author's Note:** Third in the Wanted series. A J/D sequel to "Wanted: One Hero. Horse Optional." and a prequel to "Wanted: One Hero. Rumpled Rusty Armor Okay." 

"Josh?" Marjorie was surprised when she opened the door at his insistent knock. "I didn't know you were coming over this"" She glanced down at her watch. "I guess it's technically still morning." 

"Um" yeah" I didn't tell Donna I was coming. Something" um" came up that I needed to talk to her about." Josh bounced on his toes, in the manner of either someone whose pants were full of ants, or who'd just had twelve double espressos in a row. Josh, however, had neither of those excuses. 

"Oh." Donna's mother looked him up and down. Her mom-ESP told her that something was up. It wasn't odd for Josh to stop by unannounced; on the contrary, he seemed to spend every free moment there, but he seemed nervous today, edgy. "You know, she had physical therapy this morning." 

"Right"" His voice held anxiety. "How'd it go?" 

"Tough, very tough." She lowered her voice, even though there was no visible evidence from the doorway that Donna, or anyone else, was within earshot. "Don't tell her I told you-- she'd be mortified-- but there were some tears." 

"She cried?" Josh's voice squeaked with concern and his brow furrowed. 

"Shhh." Marjorie put her finger to her lips and then continued in a low voice. "I think the frustration and the pain just got the best of her." 

"Is she okay?" He asked urgently. 

"Yes, I think she's fine now." 

In the last few months he'd had to get used to Donna being in excruciating pain. Sadly, it was a fact of life, and came with the territory of recovering from such extensive injuries. But it never failed to get to him; his gut twisted itself into a pretzel whenever he thought about what she was going through. 

She studied him intently for a moment. "Are you out of breath?" 

"What? No." He panted slightly, giving himself away. "Well, I might have jogged from my parking spot around the block." 

"I see." 

"It was hot; I needed to" uh" get out of the heat quickly." 

"So you thought running would facilitate keeping you cool?" Marjorie asked with barely-concealed amusement. "Come in, come in. Get out of the heat. Actually, I was going to go out myself this afternoon. I thought I'd take in a museum, but I didn't want to leave Donna alone after that physical therapy session." 

"I can stay for awhile. You should go," Josh offered instantly, hoping it wasn't obvious that he wanted her out of the house. Although, unfortunately, it seemed like today was shaping up to be another one of those not-perfect-for-declaring-his-love days. 

"You don't have to get back?" 

"Nancy cleared my schedule until 2:30." He'd run out of the office without a thought for his meetings that morning. By the time he got to his car, he'd remembered that he, you know, had a job. With responsibilities. When he'd called Nancy, his temp, he'd found that CJ had already talked to her, taking one of his meetings herself and having Nancy push back the others. Josh owed her one. 

She looked at him curiously, but she knew better than to pry. "Okay. I'm sure seeing you will cheer her up considerably, and then I won't worry about her being alone when you have to leave. I can only handle a couple of hours of sightseeing at a time, anyway." 

"Great!" Oops. Josh realized that might have come out a little too overenthusiastic. Backpedaling, he tried to clarify, "I mean, not great that you're leaving, just that you're getting a chance to go to the museum and see the" planes" dinosaur bones" Fonzie's jacket" which one are you going to again?" 

"The East Wing of the American Museum of Art." 

"Art! Excellent!" Josh exclaimed. Marjorie shook her head and fought the smirk that was threatening to mar her features. She didn't want to laugh at the poor boy. "You know how to get there?" he asked earnestly. 

He was also actually surprisingly sweet, at least when it came to Donna; something Marjorie had learned quickly, both in Germany and during the weeks she'd been staying in Washington. At first she'd been shocked at how much he appeared to care for her daughter. It seemed to go against every preconceived notion she had about him... of course, those had mostly been formed by newspaper articles and his appearances on television. She had gathered from the little hints that Donna had dropped over the years that the two were close, but nothing had prepared her for his loyalty to her daughter after the explosion. It was very comforting to know that Donna had such a good "friend." 

She grabbed her purse from the counter. "Yes, I take the red line to Metro Center and then take either the orange or blue to the Smithsonian stop." 

"Good." He surveyed the small apartment. "Marjorie?" 

"Yes?" 

"The patient is"" He said with a furtive glance towards her regular spot in the living room. 

"In her bedroom. She took a pain pill after therapy and went to lie down. I just looked in on her a few minutes ago and she was asleep, so I won't wake her to tell her I'm going. Let her know where I've gone when she wakes up?" When Josh nodded she continued, "There are leftovers in the refrigerator for lunch. And I have my cell phone-- if you need to leave early, just call." 

Once Marjorie was gone, Josh stood edgily in the entrance, trying to take control of his jangled nerves. He cut himself some slack, though, because it wasn't every day he told the love of his life how he felt. It was normal to be a little out-of-sorts. Right? Maybe he should wait until she woke up, she needed her sleep after all. Except he didn't want to wait. He took several deep breaths before turning and striding purposefully down the hall towards her room. 

He knocked softly on the partially-open door before slowly pushing it open the rest of the way. He found Donna looking drowsy but awake. "Hey there. How ya feeling?" 

"Josh"" She pushed herself up, and a smile spread across her features as he made his way towards the bed. "What are you doing here?" 

"Do you not want me here?" Josh's voice was playful, and as he spoke, he helped arrange the pillows behind her back so that she could sit up against the headboard. 

"No! Of course not. I mean, of course I want you here," she assured him, smiling. "I'm just surprised. I thought you had a full day. Didn't you tell me yesterday that you had those lunch meetings with Armistead and Whitlock over their objection to the land usage rider?" 

"Yes, but I had Nancy push them back." 

"Why? Oh"" Her eyes went wide. "You didn't come home because" Mom didn't call you"" She was mortified at the thought of him racing over because she'd lost it in therapy. She didn't want him to know about her weak moments; she wanted him to think she was brave and strong. 

"Home?" He repeated with a shy twinkle in his eye, as he sat on the side of her bed. 

She blushed at her gaff. "Oh" I didn't mean 'home.' I meant my home, of course. You didn't come to my home" here" because I had a bad physical therapy session, did you?" 

"No, your mom didn't call me. I didn't know you'd had a bad session until I got here. But you could have, you know" called me, I mean." His voice was low and tender. "I would have come if you needed me." 

"I didn't," she said quickly. Too quickly. He honestly looked taken aback at how hastily she'd brushed off his offer. She smiled at him, to try and undo the damage. "I mean, it was okay... I was okay. I'm sure my mom made more of it than it was." 

"What happened?" He brought his right hand up to touch her injured leg, gently resting it on the material of her sweat pants. 

"Nothing," she answered instantly. He raised an eyebrow at her answer. Realizing that he wasn't going to accept that, Donna stammered, "It was stupid. It was" I just... it hurt." 

"Did Carla push you too hard?" Josh had met Donna's physical therapist on more than one occasion. He knew she was tough, but he also knew she had to be. More than anything, he wanted a full recovery for Donna, and he knew that meant hard work. 

"No" yes"" Her strong and brave façade was quickly crumbling under his concerned scrutiny. "She was mean to me." Donna stuck her bottom lip out. 

"What do you mean?" Josh's lips quirked up slightly. Even though he had nothing but sympathy for her, she looked about six years old when she made that face. 

"She yelled at me for not doing my exercises. But I do, do them. I try, anyway." Donna continued to pout. 

"I know you do," he said softly. And that was the truth; he knew how hard she worked. "Is that what upset you so much?" He reached over and pushed several strands of pale blonde hair out of her eyes. "The yelling?" 

"No, that just put me in a feeling-sorry-for-myself mood. I think she might have been extra hard on me because she thought I hadn't been working on my own. So the session was extra strenuous, I was frustrated because I couldn't do everything, and she kept pushing. And it hurt. It just" hurt." 

"How is it now?" He ran his hand lightly up and down her good leg in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. 

"I took a pain pill and it's"" She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Better." 

The pitiful look in her eye twisted his heart inside out. Spontaneously, Josh shifted forward and gently gathered her towards him into a hug. He circled his arms around her shoulders, and she immediately buried her face in his neck, her arms wrapped around his waist. After several seconds, he heard her sniffing. 

"Are you crying now?" He asked gently as he shifted forward toward the head of the bed, so he could hold her closer. 

"Maybe"" The word came out as a sob. 

"Why?" He whispered as he rubbed small soothing circles on her back. 

"Because you're being so nice." 

"Am I sometimes not nice? Are you so taken by surprise when I am nice that you cry?" He joked, trying to lighten her mood as he continued to hold her tightly to him. 

"No" I mean" you're always nice to me. At least, lately." Her voice was muffled in his neck, and her qualified praise made him laugh softly. "I don't know why I'm crying now " probably because I'm having a" a day. And because I'm so glad you're here." 

Stroking her hair, he murmured into her ear, "Its okay" shhhh" please don't cry"" and anything else he could think of that sounded comforting. 

They sat like that for several more minutes. Finally, she pulled away with a sniffle, but studiously avoided eye contact with him as she wiped her face. Her cheeks were red; she was certain of it. Red with embarrassment. She knew how silly it was to cry, but she couldn't stop. At least the crying camouflaged her embarrassed flush. Since she was avoiding his gaze, though, she was able to notice his jacket. "Oh, no." 

"What?" He asked, his voice fraught with worry. 

"Your suit is wet. I cried all over your suit." She brushed at his shoulder. 

He squinched his chin to his neck in order to survey the damage. "It's fine. It's got several hours to dry before I have to be back." He smiled reassuringly at her before shrugging out of the jacket and setting it across the foot of the bed. 

Donna hated feeling vulnerable, but she did. Every day. She'd felt it everyday since the day she'd woken up in the hospital. She just wanted to feel normal again. Taking a cleansing breath, she made eye contact, determined to be normal. Or at least look and sound normal. "You never said why you pushed back your meetings and came by this morning." 

"Because you had a bad day at therapy and needed some company." 

"You said that you didn't know that until you got here." 

"True." He nodded guiltily, before taking a deep, fortifying breath. Without his permission, his pulse started to race, and he was suddenly afraid he was going to start sweating again like he did in CJ's office. "I wanted to talk. About something I felt couldn't wait any longer." 

"Oh." Donna swallowed hard. Talking. He came over to talk. That couldn't be good. She'd been waiting for the day when he decided that he couldn't continue spending so much time with her. She'd grown to depend on him so much over the last two months. He'd been there for her at every turn, but she knew she couldn't keep being a burden to him. 

She shook her head and silently chided herself. He comes over to tell her she needs to rely on him less and what does she do? Blubbers all over him. Great! Way to drive him away even faster. Good news was that she'd pretty much cried herself out of tears. She hoped. 

The hard part was that it was true. Bosses didn't owe their assistants this kind of time and devotion. She knew she'd allowed herself to rely on him too much over the last couple of months. But it had been easy-- he came over almost every day, either dropping by at lunch or stopping in on his way back from a meeting on the Hill; sometimes he'd bring files and a laptop, sitting and working in the big chair in her living room while she rested on the couch. Since Gaza, he'd been there through everything. They'd fallen into an easy pattern, but maybe it wasn't so easy for Josh. 

"Sure, of course. Let's go into the living room." 

"You sure you're up to moving?" He looked at her with unveiled concern. 

"Yeah"" Suddenly the intimacy of the bedroom felt stifling. Carefully, she maneuvered to the side of the bed. Josh moved quickly out of the way, but grabbed her walker and positioned it for her. 

He held his hand out to her, but she shook her head. "Carla says I have to do it on my own." 

He bit his bottom lip and stepped back. Grimacing, Donna pulled herself up and gingerly put weight on her bad leg. "Not as bad as I thought," she said to reassure him as much as herself. 

Slowly she made her way to the door and out of her bedroom. Josh followed behind her; as her leg loosened up, she picked up a bit of speed. "You want something to drink or eat? Your mom said there are leftovers from last night." 

"I'm surprised. What with you having three helpings at dinner." Her chuckle was bittersweet. She had a sinking feeling that Josh might not be joining them for dinners in the future. 

"Your mom makes excellent lasagna," Josh defended, oblivious to Donna's underlying fears. 

"I know." 

"Besides, she made a huge pan and there were only three of us eating." 

"True." 

"So you want me to heat some up for you?" 

With the pit that was currently gnawing at Donna's stomach, there was no way she could eat anything. "No, thanks. But you go ahead." 

"I'm not hungry." The truth was that he was so nervous that food was the last thing on his mind. 

"Where is my mom, by the way?" 

"Museum. She said she'd only be gone a couple of hours." 

"Good." Donna sighed with relief that her mother wasn't there to bear witness to what was about to transpire. Marjorie had grown quite fond of Josh during her stay, and Donna wouldn't want anything to jeopardize that. Even if he was putting distance between them, she still wouldn't want her mom to think badly of him. "She wants to do all of the Smithsonians while she's here." 

She made her way to the couch, and Josh followed her dutifully. Once she was settled, she looked up at him expectantly, determined not to show her devastation at what he was about to say. She would not guilt him. 

Josh started pacing back and forth in the living room. What did he want to say? So many things. He took a deep breath. This was it. The confession of his feelings that was so long overdue. "Did you know that CJ has some weird Happy Days fixation?" 

Donna stared at him, dumbfounded. That's what he wanted to talk to her about? The thing that couldn't wait any longer. The thing he moved important appointments for. "Huh?" 

"CJ. Did you know she has a weird Happy Days thing?" 

Evading. He always did it when a hard or emotional task loomed. She knew in her heart that he would never want to intentionally hurt her, so telling her that he needed to back off would be something he would evade. "Yes." 

"Well, she does" wait, what?" 

"Yes, I know she has a weird Happy Days fixation." 

"You do?" 

Donna nodded her head, not sure whether to be relieved or saddened by the temporary reprieve. "Sure, apparently she had a real thing for Fonzie until she found out she was at least a half a foot taller than Henry Winkler. She claims it sent her on a two-day downward spiral in 1978." 

"Really. Well, that's not at all odd, but it does explain her use of Joanie and Chachi-" 

"Josh?" Donna interrupted, not taking her eyes off of him. 

"Yeah?" 

"Did you come all the way over here mid-morning to tell me about CJ and her love for everything Happy Days?" What was she doing? Why was she forcing the issue? If he wanted to talk about Happy Days, she should let him. Hell, she'd be happy to talk about sitcoms from the 70's all afternoon. 

"Um" no?" He felt a little dizzy. Was dizzy normal in a situation like this? Or should he begin preventative measures, like putting his head between his knees? 

Patting the seat on the couch next to her, she commanded softly, "Sit down." Tentatively, he complied and once next to her, she looked at him with sad eyes. "Is everything okay?" 

He took another deep breath and was about to speak when she found she couldn't take it. Before he'd gotten a word out, she interrupted, speaking in a rush. "Before you say anything" let me say that I'm sorry"" 

Josh crinkled his brow in confusion before questioning, "Sorry?" 

"Yes" you've done so much for me and I'm sorry that I cried in there"" She nodded to the bedroom. Before he could protest, she quickly continued. "And that I've been a burden. I know I have to stop being so dependent on you. I promise you, I'll try harder to do things on my own. Mom is leaving soon and I have to relearn how to be alone. I'm" um" looking forward to it." 

She blinked rapidly, trying to stem the tears that threatened. What in the heck was wrong with her today? She was not going to cry again! She couldn't stand to drive him further away. She knew he hated when she got overly emotional. But she couldn't blame him; who would want to hang around some emotional, weeping woman? 

Josh sat still, staggered by her speech. She thought she was a burden to him? She wanted to be alone? Part of him screamed to just get up, move, leave, escape; go somewhere where she couldn't reject him. Thankfully it was just a small part of him that was doing the screaming. Because the better part of him knew that wasn't going to work. He wasn't going to run this time. He'd run out of places to hide from his feelings, anyway. 

"Well, Donna, I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be with all that." His gaze was riveted to her and he spoke slowly in order to gauge her reaction. 

"I know. And that's why I promise things will change and I will be more independent and stand on my own two feet. What happened in there just now"" She pointed to the bedroom again. ""won't happen again. I'm just having a bad day; I didn't mean to cry all over you. That's why I didn't want to call you after therapy-" 

"Donna." He stopped her as he set his hand over hers on her lap, rubbing small circles on her wrist. "That's not what I meant. I want you to call me anytime, day or night, and especially when you've had a bad day"" 

"Huh?" She wore a bewildered expression. 

"Standing on your own two feet is good and I want that for you, but don't ask me to leave you alone" because I can't." He took a deep breath and stared intently into her confused blue eyes. Even tear-stained and bloodshot, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Picking up the hand he'd been stroking, he laced his fingers with hers. 

"I want you to be able to depend on me, for anything you need. I want to hold you when you cry and be the one who comforts you"" He swallowed and was surprised to find a rather large lump in his throat. ""today and everyday. You could never, ever be a burden to me, Donna" because I love you so much that if the sky were falling, I wouldn't notice as long as you were okay." 

Stunned, she sat silently, watching him with wide eyes. It was as if she were having an out-of-body experience. Did he just tell her he loved her? And if so, what did that mean? She wasn't sure. Then everything hit her, and once again, tears filled her eyes. He wasn't here to tell her goodbye. Finally, she found her voice. "Really?" 

"Really." Leaning over the coffee table, he grabbed a handful of tissues. He watched her blot her eyes and waited for her to finish before he spoke. "That's what I came here to tell you today. I'm in love with you, Donnatella Moss." 

"You are?" As his words registered, Donna went from despair to shock to euphoria in a matter of heartbeats. Relief flooded over her. He loved her. He wasn't leaving her. She'd never been so happy to be wrong in her entire life. 

"Yes." 

"Even if I cry on you." She broke out into a wide smile. 

"Especially if you cry on me." He gently pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, I guess the only question is, am I out here on this limb by myself? Or do I have some hope for reciprocity?" 

"No." But she threw her arms around his neck. 

"No?" Josh chuckled slightly, despite the mixed messages. 

Donna shivered at the way his breath tickled her ear as she hugged him. "I mean, no, you're not out on the limb by yourself. Yes to reciprocity." 

"Oh". OH." The implication of what she said made his breathing hitch. He pulled back and searched her face to make sure. "You"?" 

"Love you? Oh, yes." 

His heart soared; she felt the same way he did. There was no rejection. There was no waiting as she tried to figure out a way to let him down easy. He smiled broadly at her, his dimples out in full force. "Maybe we should kiss?" 

"Yes"" She bit her lip in anticipation. "Yes, let's do that." Wildly fluttering butterflies flitted through her abdomen, a marked improvement over the gnawing pit of a few minutes ago, and her heart leapt into her throat as he brought his hands to her face and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. Slowly, their lips met, and even though it was soft and innocent, Donna felt a surge of electricity zip through her the moment their lips touched. Clutching at his shirt, she tried to draw him even closer to her. It had only been a few minutes since her insecurities had gotten the best of her, but now here she was being kissed by Josh, being loved by Josh. The feeling was amazing and she couldn't get enough of him. 

Josh took her insistent tugging at him as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Still cradling her face, he tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth; instantly the kisses became more intense and passionate. Sighing, he felt himself relax against her as his tongue gently explored her mouth and tangled with hers. He was kissing Donna; of course it was something he'd thought about, something he'd fantasized about many times over the years- but the reality of her, in his arms, was so much better than any fantasy. Perhaps it was heightened by the knowledge that it almost never was; only by some random twist of fate was this reality even a possibility. But at the moment he couldn't think of a life where kissing Donna would have only been possible in his dreams. Right now he wanted to live in the moment. 

Touching Donna, tasting her, hearing her whimper with pleasure, all sent him into a state of bliss that was unmatched by anything he'd experienced in his 40-some-odd-years. However, the delight he felt at kissing her was interrupted when he felt moisture on his cheeks. Reluctantly lifting his lips from hers, he whispered, "Donna"" 

"Yeah?" 

"Are you crying again?" They were still so close that she could feel the movement of his lips against hers. 

"No"" 

"Then how come my cheeks are wet?" 

"My eyes are just leaking. Ignore it." She pressed her lips to his once again, which succeeded in distracting him for a minute. But only a minute. 

His concern soon got the better of him and he pulled away. "Are they leaking tears?" 

"Yes." 

"Is my kissing that bad?" 

That, at least, made her laugh. Leaning back slightly, she shook her head. "Your kissing is good. Excellent, actually. Excellent kissing." 

"Then why are you leaking tears?" 

Sighing, she sat all the way back and wiped her eyes with the wadded-up tissue that she'd dropped in her lap after the last time. "Tears of joy? I guess" I'm happy and relieved." 

"Why relieved?" He arched his eyebrows at her. 

"Because I'm stupid" I thought" I thought you came to tell me you couldn't be here as much" that I shouldn't depend on you so much"" 

Stroking her cheek softly, he was suddenly very afraid that he might have done something to make her feel that way. "Why would you think that? Did I" did I give you a reason to think that?" 

"No" no" I don't know why" probably because I was already emotional and so embarrassed about crying, and then you said you wanted to talk. 'Talking' is never good." Her lips curved upwards involuntarily. "Or usually it's not good. But I am just so glad that I was wrong." 

She thought he would abandon her? The thought made his stomach twist. "I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Since you got back from Germany, I've wanted to tell you how I felt; every time I've seen you, every moment I've spend with you. But I guess I thought that it wasn't right to tell you while you were dependent on me for anything." Cautiously, he surveyed her; maybe it would make her feel better to know that she wasn't alone in her fears. "And also, I was really nervous." 

"Nervous? Why?" 

"I don't know" yes, I do" because I didn't know if you felt the same way I did. I was afraid you were going to give me the you're-a-good-friend-Josh speech." 

Genuine surprise crossed her face. "I thought I'd been pretty obvious the last few weeks"" 

"As obvious as I was?" He gave her a pointed look. 

"Good point." 

"I guess part of the reason I was nervous is that I didn't know where you stood with what's-his-name"" Josh kept his eyes averted from hers. 

Donna furrowed her brow for a second, trying to figure out who what's-his-name was. Oh. Him. Funny, she hadn't really thought of him in weeks. Not since her conversation with CJ. 

"Because, you know, I'm not really that type. The sexy, charming, dangerous, romantic hero type of guy. I thought maybe you were looking for something else"" 

Tenderly, she pressed her lips to his, silencing him with a kiss, before leaning back and meeting his eye. "He wasn't real. That wasn't real. You are real. You're my hero, Josh." 

He was her hero. Suddenly he felt like he could fly. Or leap tall buildings in a single bound. "Does that mean I have to ride a horse and wear knightly armor and challenge a dastardly scoundrel to a duel"?" 

Her eyes were still misty, but the tears had stopped falling. "No, it just means you have to be you" and love me back." 

That knocked the breath right out of him. How in the world did he get this lucky? 

"Seriously, I don't know what I would have done without you" what you did"coming to Germany and every single moment you've spent with me during my recovery" that's been nothing short of heroic" at least to me." 

Grinning, he stared down at their hands. She made him feel a thousand feet tall. 

"Besides, I don't know what you're talking about" I think you're sexy and charming." 

"You do?" 

"You know I do." 

He pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. "What about dangerous?" 

"Oh, dangerous, most of all." 

"Really?" He asked, overly pleased with the description. 

"Yes." 

"Now you're just humoring me." 

"Nope." She took his hands, linked them with hers, and brought them to rest against her chest. "You hold my heart in your hands. And that is about as dangerous as it gets; talk about risky." 

Josh gulped as he felt something yank deeply on his own heart. "You can trust me with it." 

"I know I can." 

"You have mine." He squeezed her hands and felt her squeeze back in return. 

Donna bit her lip to keep from losing it again. They had to stop this emotional stuff or she was never going to stop crying. "How about some of that lasagna?" 

"You hungry now?" 

"Yeah"" She nodded with a smile. "Suddenly, I'm ravenous." 

He stared at her and marveled that it was finally happening. Despite years of bad timing, denial and disasters, finally, they were going to be together. And happy didn't begin to do justice to how he felt. 

"Yeah, me too." He leaned over to kiss her one more time before heading to the kitchen to tackle the simple, yet in some eyes, heroic, task of re-heating lunch. 


End file.
